CFBHC Coaching Course
The CFBHC Coaching Course will help prospective users become familiarized and understand how this football simulation is run along with the proper protocols every coach must follow to ensure a favourable experience for everyone participating. The most important part about this game is that everyone has fun, finds it challenging, and worth coming back to - so please try to keep it that way for everyone. We ask that all posts relevant to the simulation be somewhat role-played to the degree you find fun. This means different things for different people, however we've found it most fun if you get behind your selected team and engage in historic rivalries, trash talk, etc., even if the team you select isn't your real life alma mater. Basic Rules Keep in mind several basic rules as you engage yourself in the community: * Keep personal trash talk to a minimum; it's one thing to bash a fictional football team online, but it's another to bash a live, breathing human. We got feelings on the other side of this screen bro. * You may only have one account, and one position in each simulation (CFBHC, NFLHC, SHC, etc.). Seriously. Don't try. We'll know. * Keep chatbox conversations somewhat civil. Don't spam, harass others, or be a burden, this should be a societal standard for everyday life, right? Also this ain't middle school y'all, keep your back-handed comments and gossip to a minimum. * Any abuse of the website, shoutbox, or the staff is subject to whatever punishment the staff sees fit. If you don't care to be tarred and feathered, I'd be on your best manners. * If you have any concerns, comments, or complaints, please don't bitch about them 24/7 and expect the staff to hear/care. Do Soluna a favour and calmly approach the staff about it in the Town Hall forum or by messaging one of the staff. Punishment for abuse will vary but base-level abuse might have consequences for your football team and can result in loss of scholarships, suspensions, and bowl-appearance bans while more serious abuse to lead to banning you from participating in the simulation. Current Staff Admin Founder of the website. * Soluna Conference Commissioners These users are each responsible for running one of the conferences in the CFBHC simulation and also serve as moderators. Tip: If you need immediate help these are the people you are looking for. Their usernames are gold. * Franz Kafka - Pac-12 * jmjacobs - Big Ten * SageBow - SEC * Rome - AAC * believer - MWC * stormstopper - Big 12 * Darman - ACC * Isaac829 - C-USA * Jieret - MAC * alienufo - NFLHC Helpful Community Members These exceptionally active community members are all willing to answer questions you may have in the absence of official staff members. * AzulCaballero * bingo415 * ChicagoTed1 * DangerZoneh * neovenator250 * rabidsnowman * SlinkyJr * taffyowner * npklemm * Rome * grv413 * Jumbo =The Simulation= The simulation is fairly straight forward. The games will be simulated using BowlBound College Football, a CFB simulation game that runs off of the same metrics as the players and gameplans we use here. Each week coaches will make the appropriate changes to their rosters and gameplans to prepare for their upcoming opponent and Soluna will note the changes before he simulates your game. Once a slate of games is simulated, Soluna will post the scores and stats on the forums under CFBHC > The Games > Games. Coaching Responsibilities As a coach you are in control of almost every facet of your team, therefore you're required to engage in several responsibilities if you want to succeed. If you are inactive on the website for two weeks, you'll be removed and your position will be open for others to snag. General Game Information Games will typically be played on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, with Saturdays holding the main bulk of the games for that week. Every Saturday/Sunday after all the games have been simulated the schedule for next week is posted. To make things easier from Soluna, Saturdays are split into three time slots, Saturday Morning, Afternoon, and Evening with "better", more TV worthy games landed later in the day. Depth charts and gameplans are now due by Sunday night before your games. Tip: Saturday and Sunday games are usually released at different time slots throughout the day--usually 12 PM, 3 PM, and 6 PM on Saturdays and 1 PM, 4 PM, and 8 PM on Sundays, but things can vary based on Soluna's schedule. Failure to meet these deadlines will result in no changes to your depth chart and gameplan, ie. the simulation will run your previous week's plans. We will discuss the details of the depth charts and gameplans below. Don't worry. Keep on reading. Tactics Gameplans Before each game it'll be your responsibility to update your team's gameplan. The gameplan will determine what your focus is during the game and how your players will line up. Changing the scheme will incur a rather large penalty for one week (excluding bye weeks) while your team struggles to learn a new playbook; it is advised that you try and stick with your scheme as long as you can for this reason. Think of it like real football - if a coach runs a pro style offense one week and then tries to implement an entirely new playbook the next week, the players will likely struggle. This works for both offensive and defensive schemes. Also, the greater the change in schemes, the greater the penalty. For example, pro style to vertical is less of a penalty than smashmouth to pro style. Gameplans are done on the CFBHC Interface http://cfbhc.herokuapp.com/. Once you have been approved for your team, inspiral will assign you to the team in the interface, where you can set your gameplan, set recruits, or handle your team's scheduling. NFLHC gameplans are still handled through the gameplan forum. To post your gameplan for the week, log onto the forums and navigate to NFLHC > Coaching & Strategy > Gameplans, it should be an empty, private forum that only you and Soluna can see. Since this is your first time, you'll have make a new gameplan thread. You must format your title like YEAR TEAM MASCOT Gameplan otherwise it won't be found. The NFLHC gameplan is slightly different from the CFBHC gameplan and can be found in the Announcements forum. * ex. 2017 Cleveland Browns Gameplan Tip: The below gameplan is for CFBHC only and is subject to change in the near future. Please make sure to come back to this page occasionally. ---Offensive Gameplan--- Scheme: Smash Mouth - (Almost entirely run oriented - plays off of good TEs and FBs) Option - (Balanced run/pass - requires a high skill Scrambling QB and good offensive line) Spread - (Balanced run/pass with a large amount of misdirection plays - works best with good skill players and a not quite as good o-line) Spread Option - (Balanced run/pass - Combination of above two playbooks - works well with scrambling QB and high skill WR) Pro Style - (Frequent pass/ medium run - require a mix of pass and run blocking o-line) Pistol - (Balanced run/pass but focused on moving - works well with any RB and a scrambling QB) Wildcat - (Balanced run/pass with a large amount of trick plays - can be played with most characteristics and is extremely high risk/ high reward) Wildcat II - (Mostly run with a large amount of trick plays - can be played with most characteristics and is extremely high risk/ high reward) Vertical Offense - (Mostly pass/ some run - requires a power RB and a pocket passer) Air Raid - (Mostly pass/ some run - shotgun based offense with 4 WR and 1 RB) West Coast - (Mostly pass - plays off of good pocket QB and WR play) Play proportion: Slightly More Pass vs No Change vs Slightly More Run (Play proportion is mostly dictated by your scheme, this slider will modify it slightly. For example, a slightly more run proportion in a west coast offense is still mostly passing). Play-calling: Conservative vs Neutral vs Aggressive (Determines Red Zone offensive gameplan, short 4th down situations, and FG length based on game situation) Hurry-Up: All the time vs End of halves vs Never Passing: Screen/Out/Hitch vs Slant/Hook vs Streak/Post (All will be used but you can set a primary focus if you wish to target a specific area of the opponents defense) Rushing: Inside vs Mixed vs Outside (Power RB and good FB facilitate inside running versus speed RB will work better with outside) ---Defensive Gameplan--- Scheme: 4-3 vs 3-4 Set: Play the Pass vs Balanced vs Play the Run Coverage Linebackers: Man vs Zone Cornerbacks: Man vs Press vs Zone Safeties: Man vs Zone Play-Calling: Conservative vs Neutral vs Aggressive (Determines blitzing frequency, punt coverage, tightness of coverage if man-to-man) Blitzing Balance: Lineman vs Both vs Linebackers Physical Aggressiveness: Aggressive vs Neutral vs Passive ---Blowout Gameplan--- Applies to: Blowing Out, Both, or Being Blown Out Pull QB in blowout: Yes or No Pull RB in blowout: Yes or No Always go for 4th Down: Yes or No Kick FGs: Yes or No Depth Charts Players and Interaction To understand how player stats are read and how to interact with players we have to first look at a player's baseline. Let's look at this example player: * QB Dan Redmond 6-3 214 Sr Cardinal Spellman (Brockton, MA) 2.0 of 4.0 Pocket Here's what this line of information means. * Position: Fairly self-explanatory, some positions are interchangeable but they will be clearly listed by their appropriate letter designation. * Name: Also self-explanatory, this is the name your player goes by and will be referred by in game-threads and awards. * Height and Weight: Gives a good indication of what position the player plays and how well he can handle a transition to another position. * Class Standing: Fr, So, Jr, Sr are the class standing of the player and, if, he's been redshirted the two letter designation will be marked with parentheses. A (Jr) for example is in his fourth year of eligibility. * High School: This will be relevant for recruiting purposes. High school players are more likely to go to local universities in the case of a recruiting tie. * Star Rating: The first number is the current skill level of the player while the second number is the highest potential skill the player can reach. Skill numbers increase in the offseason depending on the previous years statistics. * Role: Balance your roles, if you rely heavily on the run game you will want a run-blocking offense. You can experiment with the tactics as much as you please. Depth Chart Format To post your team's depth chart for a season log on to the forums and navigate to CFBHC > Coaching & Strategy > Depth Chart 20XX. Similar to your gameplans, you will make a thread specifically tited YEAR TEAM MASCOT Depth Chart. * ex. 2015 Arizona State Sun Devils Depth Chart With this first post you should include every player on your roster you wish to play, categorized first by position, then by string. The current depth chart guideline can be found here. You are required to fill out every position and specify left or right for the noted positions in that post. Your special teams squads (Kickoff, Hands, Punt Return) must all be specified as well. If you choose to make changes to your depth chart, just edit the original post (you don't need to reply to it). An example portion of a depth chart may look like this: Left Outside Linebacker OLB Cameron Jones 6-4 221 (Sr) Moriarty (Moriarty, NM) 4.5 of 4.5 Man-to-Man OLB Ronald Gleason 5-11 222 (Jr) Santa Rosa (Santa Rosa, TX) 4.0 of 4.0 Man-to-Man Inside Linebacker ILB Christian Haywood 6-3 243 Sr Phoenix (Phoenix, AZ) 5.0 of 5.0 Man-to-Man ILB Chester Hess 6-3 219 (Sr) Gadsden (Anthony, NM) 4.0 of 4.0 Man-to-Man ILB Steven Alexander 5-11 216 (Sr) Dexter (Dexter, NM) 4.0 of 4.0 Man-to-Man Right Outside Linebacker OLB Ron Phillips 6-4 219 (Sr) M.B. Lamar (Houston, TX) 4.0 of 4.0 Man-to-Man OLB Kevin Parris 6-1 251 Fr Cholla Magnet (Tucson, AZ) 2.0 of 3.0 Man-to-Man Cornerback CB Cameron Bowman 6-0 180 (Sr) Wortham (Wortham, TX) 4.5 of 4.5 Coverage CB Josh Holland 5-10 163 (Sr) Gorman (Gorman, TX) 4.5 of 4.5 Coverage CB David Gonzalez 6-0 191 (Jr) La Joya Community (Avondale, AZ) 4.0 of 4.0 Coverage CB Leveon Brooks 6-2 189 (Sr) Gallup (Gallup, NM) 4.0 of 4.0 Coverage Redshirting You may redshirt up to a maximum of ten players per season. Redshirts must be set before the first week of games. Like in real football, you may not redshirt players who have played in any games or that have been redshirted during any other previous season. You can tell players who have been redshirted by the parenthesis around their year stat in the player line, for example: * Not Redshirted: QB Aaron Devereaux 6-6 204 Jr St. Martin (Ocean SpringsMS) 5.0 of 5.0 Pocket * Redshirted: QB Aaron Devereaux 6-6 204 (Jr) St. Martin (Ocean SpringsMS) 5.0 of 5.0 Pocket Each redshirted player has the following chances at growth: * +0.0 (20-35%) * +0.5 (25-35%) * +1.0 (20-30%) * +1.5 (10-15%) To set your redshirts for the season simply add the entire stat lines of the players you would like to redshirt under a "Redshirt" category in your depth chart. It's as easy as that. Please note that if you join in the middle of the season at any point (e.g. after the first game of a season has been simulated) none of your players will be eligible to be redshirted, due to the fact that all of them will have already played in a game. If the previous coach redshirted players for that season, you may keep their redshirts or play some or all of the redshirts, but you may not add any new redshirts. Scheduling Scheduling from the 2020 season onward will be based on real-life schedules. Conference championship games, bowl games, and playoff games will all happen in the postseason. Scheduling will be primarily handled by the conference commissioners along with other dedicated schedulers. The following list explains the breakdown of scheduling for each conference. * AAC: 5 divisional games, 3 cross-divisional games, 4 out-of-conference games * ACC: 6 divisional games, 1 "permanent rival" game, 1 cross-divisional games, 4 out-of-conference games * Big 12: 9 conference games, 3 out-of-conference games * Big 10: 6 divisional games, 3 cross-divisional games, 3 out-of-conference games (Purdue-Indiana is protected) * Conference USA: 6 divisional games, 2 cross-divisional games, 4 out-of-conference games * Independents: 12 scheduled games against opponents at the coach's discretion * MAC: 5 divisional games, 3 cross-divisional games, 4 out-of-conference games * MWC: 5 divisional games, 3 cross-divisional games, 4 out-of-conference games * PAC-12: 5 divisional games, 4 cross-divisional games, 3 out-of-conference games * SEC: 6 divisional games, 1 "permanent rival" game, 1 cross-divisional game, 4 out-of-conference games * Bowl Game: The number of bowl games will depend on the number of teams playing but will almost be 1/4 the number of total teams which means that half the teams will make a bowl game. To be bowl eligible you must have at least 6 wins. Recruitment Recruiting is done on the interface by allotting your team's recruiting points every week. Coaches can set up and change bids Monday through Saturday, and on Sunday all bids are processed and the interface is updated to show which schools are going after which players and any hard commits if applicable. Players can commit beginning on Week 4 if a school has a 50 points lead, with the required points lead decreasing by 5 points every week (45 point lead on Week 5, 40 point lead on Week 6, etc.) Players who have only one offer of 30 points or more for three consecutive weeks will commit to that school. Each school has border states, which are specified here. In these border states, schools can gain a 12 point boost if an in-state school has offered the player at least 5 points. This bonus is increased to 25 points if the recruit is from your state. Initial points are doubled on instate recruits for free up to 20 points. (i.e. You put 20 points on someone from your state that you had not previously put points on it will count as 40. You put 50 points on someone from your state that you had not previously put points on it will count as 70 (50+20 cap).) Before week 1, each school can set a pipeline state and a host camp state. Pipeline states must border the school's home state or be the school's home state. Pipeline states give a 25% bonus to recruiting points if used on a school's home state, and a 20% bonus to recruiting points if used on a school's border state. Host camp states give a 15% bonus on points spent, and must be a state where a team from their conference is from and it cannot be their home state. Every school can also select a "star recruit" which will receive an automatic amount of points per week outside of the school's allotted point pool. Every school can also select two team needs, where any point spent on players of those positions gain a 10% boost. All of these selections must be done before week 1! Every school gets a base number of 21 scholarships. These scholarships give a flat 20 points to the player it is used on. If a player you have previously used a scholarship on commits to another school, you will be refunded a half-scholarship, worth 10 points on the player it is used on. Coaches visits and school visits can be used beginning Week 5. Each school has 10 coaches visits and 5 school visits which give variable points based on a Gaussian distribution. For additional questions, please read the recruiting change log. If you still have questions, feel free to ask in the shoutbox. *Recruiting 2.0 *Recruiting 2.1 Bowl Games, Playoffs, and Awards Bowl Games Bowl Games will be announced after the Conference Championship Games. In general, each conference will have 6 bowl slots, including an automatic bid to the playoffs. These slots will be ordered by team record. A team must be 6-6 or better to go to a bowl game, but there are no guarantees if a conference's bowl slots all fill up. Rankings and Playoffs The playoffs will consist of the 6 conference champions (in 2016, the AAC and MWC will combine for one automatic bid), the independent with the best record, and the 2 highest-ranked remaining teams. The lowest-ranked wild card will play against the lowest-ranked conference champion in a play-in game. All teams must have a record of 9-3 or better to make the playoff, and extra wild card bids will replace any conference champions who miss this threshold. Coaching/ Player Awards Will be announced after the championship game. Coaches' Poll The ranking are done via a coaches poll, the coaches are picked by Soluna and the coaches poll ballots are due by 11:59 PM the day after the main games of the week (that is, Sunday night). If selected for a coaches' poll ballot, you follow the instructions given to you by the poll organizer (as of October 2017, Jumbo). Applying Refer to this for instructions. After two weeks of inactivity, counted from the last date the user logged into the site, their position will be considered vacant and available for a different coach.